RR-20.01Building Area: (sf)1036 Canal St – 9,6701028 Canal St – 28,486

Cost per Square Foot: Withheld by owner

Construction CostWithheld by owner

Date of Completion:July 2019

Program Summary:Restore, adapt, and expand underutilized structures to maximize depth and breadth of a traveler’s cultural engagement without diminishing the historic character of two historic properties.

Program Statement:For almost 100-years the client, a charity federation, has been focused on providing exploration and travel leading to a better understanding of other cultures, and in turn create a more peaceful, smarter, and tolerant world.

The client realized there was a significant opportunity to extend its mission into the City of New Orleans and more importantly the unique culture that existed there, when the 23,000sf structure became available at 1028-1030 Canal Street.

To be successful however, the program called for more guestrooms, public, and support spaces that could incorporated within the existing 3-story/mezzanine envelope. The team developed a scheme which – by adding a 5th floor penthouse and expanding into parts of the neighboring building on the corner of Canal and South Rampart Streets – adequate square footage could be added to the project.

This solution solved an economic parameter yet created significant challenges in terms of design; both buildings are considered commercial and architectural landmarks in the community. The earliest of the two was built in 1896 and had served as a social hub of the city, the “newest” had been constructed in 1907 and remained still the home of one of the city’s oldest and most revered family retail establishments. To meet client’s priorities as well as the requirements of numerous public agencies and “watchdogs”, the design solution included expansion, renovation, or adaptation in such a way as to maintain and/or restore the historic fabric as well as elevate the area immediately surrounding this important community intersection.

RR-20.02The tourist area of our downtown is replete with well-known five-star and five-star-plus hotels and inns, particularly in the Canal Street corridor, catering to millions of world travelers. Yet on one of the most famous streets in the world, there remain many underutilized and abandoned properties.

The challenge of this project was to take two of these underutilized structures, separated not only by a 5-ft alley, but also by ownership, and combine them into a single hospitality property. One that would provide a uniquely New Orleans “hostel” experience and do so while keeping an existing retail tenant operating and meet National Parks Service and The Historic Districts Landmarks Committee approvals.

RR-20.03Public spaces are located on the ground floor where buildings are linked by two single story additions set back from the street. These additions providing separate service, public, and life safety connections, are seamless to the guest, yet do not interrupt restored historic storefronts.

Locating the Café on South Rampart and the lobby toward Canal Street while “burying” service and support areas in the building core leverages the location around the existing occupant and connects guests with the street – a critical element of the design.

Guest-only amenities such as communal kitchen dining and lounge areas are situated on the mezzanine level.

RR-20.04No two floors above the ground level of the adjacent buildings aligned, fire stairs and elevators existed in neither. Fenestration was protected and prescribed by historic agencies. Within this context the project’s program mandated a specific number communal rooms of 6 and 8 with shared bathrooms as well as private bedrooms with baths.

To meet these requirements bridges spanning the alley were strategically inserted into each level linking buildings and adjusting to floor level variations. A single-loaded corridor parti was developed, core spaces lined along party walls and utility spaces where there were no windows.

To meet the operator’s goals, after much study and modeling, a 5th floor penthouse was added providing 9 additional rooms yet totally “invisible” from the street below.

RR-20.05A clear arrival sequence, obvious spatial interaction, and a welcoming smile are critical attributes that lead to overall guest comfort and connectivity to a space. Those simple hospitality design concepts are overlaid with strong statements in pattern, color, texture and detail to create vibrant, interconnected volumes.

This “multi-level” sensory experience contributes not only to a guest knowing they “have arrived” but also quickly connect them to the history, culture, and spirit of the locale.

New Orleans is by any definition, “unique”. Its hospitality venues – and the experiences they produce – are challenged to be the same.

RR-20.06The tourist area of our downtown is replete with well-known five-star and five-star-plus hotels and inns, particularly in the Canal Street corridor, catering to millions of world travelers. Yet on one of the most famous streets in the world, there remain many underutilized and abandoned properties.

The challenge of this project was to take two of these underutilized structures, separated not only by a 5-ft alley, but also by ownership, and combine them into a single hospitality property. One that would provide a uniquely New Orleans “hostel” experience and do so while keeping an existing retail tenant operating and meet National Parks Service and The Historic Districts Landmarks Committee approvals.

RR-20.07

Restoring historic storefront and situating communal seating areas near the entry gives guests a firsthand experience to the Canal Street context.

Informal seating groups in the lobby encourage interaction amongst strangers while message and event boards keep travelers informed.

Eclectic furniture and diverse fabrics were chosen to fit within the scale of the space and create an active environment – even when sparsely populated.

A custom chandelier brightens the deep volume and evokes the spirit of the building’s history.

RR-20.08While the building’s architecture, location, and history tell a compelling story, art also plays a major role in the hostel’s larger narrative.

Artworks are integrated into the overall design of the space. Artists were engaged early in the process and pieces evolved over the life of the commission.

This comprehensive approach does enhance the guest experience but also leads to greater knowledge of the culture and history of a place; helping fulfill the hostel’s goal of further binding us all together into a single, hopeful community with a brighter future.

The city’s stringent rainwater storage requirements were met by utilizing a wooden cistern that serves as a unique way to subdivide a large space.

RR-20.09Situated adjacent to the existing first floor tenant is the hostel’s café’ and bar serving both hostel guests and the public. This space along South Rampart, and just a short walk from the CBD, is a touchpoint (and viewpoint) that is developing into a lunch counter and “watering hole” for locals and traveler alike.

The dining room is arranged into interconnected zones of bar, high-seat tables, and standard dining area. In keeping with the rest of the property’s public spaces is finished and furnished to create colorful and casual setting, with reclaimed wood ceilings, pattered tile, and custom light fixtures. The client partnered with New Orleans’ Young Artists Movement (YAM) to create a mural commemorating events of September of 1960, when the corner of S. Rampart and Canal was the site of two historic sit-ins by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).

RR-20.10The communal kitchen and dining area is accessible only to guests registered at the hostel. Side-by-side guests from all over the world spend time – particularly mornings and evenings – together creating dishes, sharing stories, building relationships.

Using facias and furr-downs, rugs and seating groups; framed openings; varieties of colors, textures, and materials the space is modulated in such a way as to mitigate the impact of low mezzanine ceilings.

All these pieces-and-parts are designed and built to withstand frequent use by untrained chefs and servers yet still be straight-forward, comfortable, and inviting extended periods of “hanging out” with fellow travelers.

RR-20.11The nature of a 100-year plus old building required the creating of custom sleeping and storage pieces. The result is a design that affords each communal room guest a private bunk with privacy screen, reading lamp, and charging station as well as lockable storage space –in addition to large lockers located on the ground level. Five of these are designed to have fully accessible lower berths. Wall surrounds are impact resistant, hypoallergenic, and easily cleanable laminate. Acoustics and lighting were designed to limit intrusions and allow each guest to have a relatively high level of peace, quite, and privacy. Baseboard LED lighting is kept on all evening to allow guests to move in and through rooms with the least amount of disturbance. Each guest has a pair of hooks to be used for clothes, towels, or backpacks so confusion is reduced. Upper level bunks are designed in much the same way train “berths” provided a safety rail and accessed via fixed ladder. Floors – when not restored original –are luxury vinyl tile. Apart from darker tones used within private sleeping spaces, rooms are given even, warm tones that support daytime sleeping without creating an overall dark space.

In addition to communal quarters, a significant number of private rooms with private bath, queen bed, king bed, or queen + bunk (accommodating a family of four) have been provided.

RR-20.12Ultimately, the success of any hospitality project is measured by how often the owner says, “welcome back”.

In addition to “recovering” two of Canal Street’s historic resources and presenting New Orleans to the world as the cultural icon that it is, the project’s design was dedicated to supporting the client’s mission to the fullest.

The result provides each guest with opportunities to engage our unique culture through cooking exhibitions, traveler’s education, environmental education, mixers, communal meals, tours and outings, community talks, community nights, and volunteer programs; assuring that not only will the community be saying, but many guests hearing, “welcome back”.